Summary
- Delta will fly the Airbus A350-900 to London Heathrow in August and September.
- It will operate from Atlanta on one of the carrier’s three daily services on the route.
- The A350-900 will replace the A330-200, although the A330neo will take over later.
Despite using the A350-900 since 2017, Delta has not yet flown the type to London Heathrow. That changes in August and September, when it will temporarily appear. Just 25 round-trip services are planned, which makes it even more interesting. Separately, Air India will fly its A350-900s to Heathrow for the first time on September 1.
Delta’s A350s to London
While the plan has been known for some time, it is worth summarizing what is happening. Beginning on August 26, the SkyTeam member will deploy the 275-seat A350-900 to Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport.
Photo: Delta
The new 275-seat layout entered passenger-carrying service in May 2024. At the time of writing, Delta has two aircraft with that configuration. They have 40 Delta One suites, 40 Premium Select seats, 36 Comfort+ seats, and 159 in the Main Cabin. Unlike the carrier’s two other A350 layouts, the 275-seater is much more premium and is on its heavier, 283-ton MTOW aircraft.
While irrelevant for London flights, the configuration has a longer range (also helped by the lighter cabin) and stronger take-off performance. For this reason, it’ll primarily revolve around South Africa, especially from hot and high Johannesburg.
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Take off from the US: August 26
The A350 will be flown from Atlanta, Delta’s number one hub and the world’s busiest airport, from which most of the airline’s flights on the type depart. Aside from providing higher capacity, the reason for the equipment shift is unknown. Nonetheless, services will operate from the US between August 26 and September 19.
Photo: Delta
The 3,659 nautical mile (6,776 km) route is scheduled as follows, with all times local:
- Atlanta to Heathrow: DL32, 22:10-11:10+1
- Heathrow to Atlanta: DL33, 13:55-18:10
On August 26, the A350 will replace the aging 223-seat A330-200, Delta’s least common widebody. From September 20, the specific flights will shift to the 281-seat A330neo. To help with cold season yields and loads, the 238-seat 767-400ER will take over from October 27, when northern airlines, including Delta, change to winter schedules based on IATA slot seasons.
Where passengers go
Delta has eight London routes between July and September, with 10 to 11 daily departures (double for both ways). When very close partner Virgin is added, they will collectively operate 19 London-US routes on 15 airport pairs with up to 43 daily departures. Later this year, Delta will introduce Orlando to Heathrow service.
Delta has triple Atlanta-Heathrow flights daily, while Virgin serves it daily to feed its equity and transatlantic joint venture partner and fellow SkyTeam member. (British Airways also operates daily.)
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In 2023, Delta and Virgin carried an estimated 29,000 transfer passengers from Atlanta to destinations via Heathrow. Naturally, it was nearly all about India, with Atlanta-Delhi being the most popular origin and destination.
Over 180,000 passengers connected to another flight in Atlanta, including 50,000+ on Virgin. Heathrow-Cancun was number one, then Orlando, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Birmingham, Charleston, Memphis, St Louis, Savannah, and Pensacola.